Christian persecution

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told evangelical Christian leaders in Florida that Israel is waging a new front against Islamist persecution of Christians worldwide, praising Christian Zionist support for the Jewish state while framing the effort as a “common Judeo-Christian battle.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a Christmas Eve message from Jerusalem stressing that Israel is “the only country in the Middle East where the Christian community is thriving” and pledged that the Jewish state “will always stand” with Christians worldwide.

Nigerians speaking to the newspaper Daily Trust expressed extreme hesitation in traveling out of the capital city of Abuja to spend Christmas this week with family, citing the “insecurity” crisis caused by a growing wave of systematic attacks by jihadists against Christian communities nationwide.

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) urged Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on Thursday to use the federal government to protect worshippers in the face of expected increased jihadist attacks during the Christmas season.

The U.S.-based Cuban news outlet Martí Noticias reported on Thursday that the Communist Party on the island has ordered the expulsion of Father José Ramírez, a priest stationed in Havana who rang the bells of his church on Monday in solidarity with protesters who had taken to the streets that night.

Pastor Andrew Brunson, who was imprisoned in Turkey for two years before President Donald Trump secured his release back in Trump’s first term, is ratcheting up pressure on Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID) to get Trump’s Religious Freedom ambassador confirmed before Christmas.

Christian communities in the Syrian cities of Latakia and Homs held celebrations this weekend marking the beginning of Advent, the Christmas season, lighting Christmas trees and opening themed markets.

Pope Leo XIV urged Catholics to pray for him on Wednesday as he prepared to depart for his first international tour as the Archbishop of Rome, stopping in Turkey to mark the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea and in Lebanon to meet with the Christian community there.

A report from France’s domestic intelligence agency has identified Christians as the “prime target” for radical Islamists, who are actively trying to stoke anti-Christian sentiment in the West with “anti-crusader” propaganda.

The World Food Program (WFP), an arm of the United Nations, warned on Tuesday that parts of Nigeria may face unprecedented hunger in the most perilous parts of the upcoming year, leaving as many as 35 million people facing “severe food insecurity.”

The main opposition party in Nigeria, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) demanded on Sunday that President Bola Tinubu consider resignation if he cannot ensure the safety of Christians in the face on a decade-long jihadist genocide campaign against them.

Nigerian Bishop Wilfred Anagbe testified before the House of Representatives on Thursday, detailing the “gory” violence Christians face.

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) asked him to work on a peace deal between the factions in Sudan’s long and brutal civil war, and Trump has already begun working on a deal.

Chinese officials on Tuesday arrested 18 leaders of the underground Zion Church. Almost thirty pastors and staffers have been detained, without formal arrest, since the middle of October.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who has denied the existence of persecution against Christians in his country, was obliged to postpone his trips to the G20 and AU-EU summits on Wednesday due to the ongoing crises of a mass schoolgirl kidnapping and a brutal jihadi attack on a church.

Pope Leo XIV offered prayers for the persecuted Christians of Nigeria during his public address on Sunday.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz praised rap superstar Nicki Minaj for using her platform to “spotlight” the persecution and slaughter of Christians in Nigeria.

Nigerian Minister of Information Mohammed Idris reportedly declared on Thursday that the country’s advertising and marketing executives have a “crucial responsibility” to make Nigeria look good, particularly given recent global attention on the ongoing genocide of Christians in the Middle Belt region.

Multiple Syrian news outlets reported on Wednesday that the Franciscan Order has once again taken control of the Al-Ram School, formerly the Jesuit School, of Aleppo, over 50 years after the Assad dynasty’s Socialist Baath Party confiscated it.

Nigerian Senator Orji Uzor Kalu of the ruling All Progressives Party (APC) conceded in remarks on Tuesday that President Donald Trump “told the truth” when he denounced a genocide of Christians in the country, asking those outraged by the American’s remarks to channel that anger into fixing the problem.

Nigeria’s most prominent Muslim organization, the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), blamed “pro-Israeli actors” on Sunday for the growing international alarm at the Christian genocide happening in the country. It further alleged the genocide itself is “fake” contrary to extensive evidence of slaughter and displacement.

Violent attacks targeting Christian communities occur in Nigeria about eight times a day on average and the government has been “largely ineffective” at stopping them, Ryan Brown, the CEO of the Christian aid organization Open Doors, told Breitbart News.

Workers at a displaced persons camp in Benue state, Nigeria, denounced the discovery of trash disposals full of fetuses.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said on Tuesday that he regarded President Donald Trump’s expression of concern for oppressed Christians as a “threat,” and that confronting violent extremists will make Nigeria “come out stronger.”

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning expressed support for the government of Nigeria on Tuesday, and claimed President Donald Trump was only interested in the slaughter of Christians as an “excuse” to interfere in Nigerian politics.

Nigerian military officials met to plan a response to President Donald Trump’s threat of military action against Islamist terrorists.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu condemned President Donald Trump’s statements acknowledging the ongoing genocide of Christians in his country in remarks on Saturday, claiming they did not reflect “reality,” while a top adviser told local media Tinubu planned to meet Trump “in the coming days.”

President Donald Trump has designated Nigeria as a “country of particular concern” for the ongoing mass murders of Christians by radical Islamists, directing the House Appropriations Committee “to immediately look into this matter” and stating that the United States “cannot stand by” while the slaughters occur.

Archbishop Ignatius Aphrem, the patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church, told the Kurdish outlet Rudaw in an interview published Wednesday that the president of Syria, former al-Qaeda offshoot terror leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, personally promised that he would respect the rights of Christians.

Pope Leo XIV received a copy of “Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church,” an extensive report detailing thousands of acts of Christian persecution.

Nigerian Christians say their communities are under siege by Islamist “bandits” who are planning nothing less than genocide.